You may be eligible for VA health care benefits if you served in the active military, naval, or air service and didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge.

If you enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, you must have served 24 continuous months or the full period for which you were called to active duty, unless any of the descriptions below are true for you.

This minimum duty requirement may not apply if any of these are true:

• You were discharged for a disability that was caused—or made worse—by your active-duty service, or
• You were discharged for a hardship or “early out,” or
• You served prior to September 7, 1980, or
• You have a service-connected disability rating of at least 0% issued by the VA.

If you’re a current or former member of the Reserves or National Guard, you must have been called to active duty by a federal order and completed the full period for which you were called or ordered to active duty. If you had or have active-duty status for training purposes only, you don’t qualify for VA health care.

If you have a VA service-connected disability rating,  you may be required to make copays for non-service-connected issues if your overall rating is below 50% and your annual income exceeds the Federal Poverty Level.